Whether it's in kickboxing or mixed martial arts, Alistair Overeem is one of the toughest men in the world, as he showed once again on Saturday in defeated Peter Aerts at the K-1 World Grand Prix Final 16 in Seoul.
The 38-year-old Aerts is one of the legends of K-1, but he was simply no match for the bigger, stronger Overeem, who threw him around the ring and battered him with punches and kicks for three rounds in winning a one-sided unanimous decision. Overeem entered the fight as the underdog, but that's a function of K-1 fans knowing Aerts better than they know Overeem. There's no doubt that Overeem is the superior fighter.
Now Overeem will advance to the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final, a one-day tournament that will take place on December 5 in Yokohama, Japan, and he'll have to be considered one of the favorites. Overeem is just 4-3 in his kickboxing career, but he has been nothing short of outstanding in his last three fights: He dominated Aerts on Saturday, he lost a very close decision to defending champion Remy Bonjasky in March, and he knocked out Badr Hari on New Year's Eve.
Overeem's primary sport is MMA, and he's expected to defend his Strikeforce heavyweight championship against Fedor Emelianenko some time in 2010. He showed once again on Saturday why he'd be a real threat to Fedor: His stand-up game might be the best of any heavyweight in MMA.
But while a fight with Fedor would be great next year, this year Overeem's focus is on kickboxing. In December he has a real chance of being crowned the best kickboxer in the world.
The 38-year-old Aerts is one of the legends of K-1, but he was simply no match for the bigger, stronger Overeem, who threw him around the ring and battered him with punches and kicks for three rounds in winning a one-sided unanimous decision. Overeem entered the fight as the underdog, but that's a function of K-1 fans knowing Aerts better than they know Overeem. There's no doubt that Overeem is the superior fighter.
Now Overeem will advance to the K-1 World Grand Prix 2009 Final, a one-day tournament that will take place on December 5 in Yokohama, Japan, and he'll have to be considered one of the favorites. Overeem is just 4-3 in his kickboxing career, but he has been nothing short of outstanding in his last three fights: He dominated Aerts on Saturday, he lost a very close decision to defending champion Remy Bonjasky in March, and he knocked out Badr Hari on New Year's Eve.
Overeem's primary sport is MMA, and he's expected to defend his Strikeforce heavyweight championship against Fedor Emelianenko some time in 2010. He showed once again on Saturday why he'd be a real threat to Fedor: His stand-up game might be the best of any heavyweight in MMA.
But while a fight with Fedor would be great next year, this year Overeem's focus is on kickboxing. In December he has a real chance of being crowned the best kickboxer in the world.
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